A MAN was found hanged in his home hours after being released from police custody after not being deemed a suicide risk, an inquest heard.

Joseph Lewins was found hanged at his home the day after he was arrested

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A MAN was found hanged in his home hours after being released from police custody after not being deemed a suicide risk, an inquest heard.

Joseph Matthew Lewins, 24, of Washington, was found dead at his house in the morning of March 26 last year, a matter of hours after police escorted him home following his arrest for cannabis possession.

The previous evening, Northumbria Police had been called by the ambulance service who were treating Mr Lewins, a self-harmer, who had used razor blades to cut his arm.

While there, officers found him in possession of an amount of cannabis and he was arrested and taken to Washington police station.

The inquest, held at Sunderland Civic Centre, heard Mr Lewins had been kept under level four close proximity supervision due to his state.

This meant Mr Lewins, who the inquest heard was believed to be under the influence of alcohol, was under constant watch by officers.

Dr Jonathan Kisler, forensic medical, arrived at around 11pm and saw Mr Lewins for around 10 minutes, dressed the cuts on his arms and carried out a brief mental health assessment.

After his assessment, Dr Kisler ruled Mr Lewins did not display suicidal thoughts and did not believe he was at risk of self harm.

Mr Lewins was then interviewed by officers and given a cannabis warning.

After midnight an officer escorted him to his home in Washington.

But concerns were raised in the inquest by Mr Lewins’ father, also Joseph Lewins, about the length of the examination.

Speaking after the inquest, Mr Lewins senior said: “He was let down by the system. They should be more careful with young lads.”

During the inquest, a possible failure in the custodial system was raised by Dr Kisler and Mr Winter, who said that records for detainees who displayed self-harming thoughts in custody and were seen by a forensic medical examiner were not passed on to GPs.

Mr Winter said: “My initial thought is to write to the appropriate organisation, whether that is to Northumbria Police or any organisation forensic medical examiners belong to, to raise with them to ensure information is recorded.”

However, Mr Winter acknowledges this may not have made a difference in the case of Mr Lewins.

Chief Superintendent Gordon Milward said: “Northumbria Police has been working with health professionals since October 2011 to develop a more effective service for those detained in custody.”